1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to orthopaedic devices, and, more particularly, to bone plates.
2. Description of the Related Art
An orthopaedic bone plate is attached to a bone and used to support different bones relative to each other, or support pieces of an individual bone during the healing process. Typically, a bone plate is manufactured to approximate the shape of a bone to which it is to be attached. The shape of the bone plate may be based upon statistical analysis of a common size and shape of a particular bone. However, since the actual size and shape of a bone may vary from one patient to another, it is often times necessary to manually deform the bone plate during surgery to achieve a proper fit. The bone plate may be placed against the bone, observed for deviation, removed from the bone and deformed using manual bending techniques. The bone plate is then placed against the bone and again visualized to determine any further necessary adjustments. This process may be somewhat time consuming during surgery.
What is needed in the art is a bone plate which is easy and fast to install, and easily contours to the shape of the bone to which it is attached.
The present invention provides an orthopaedic bone plate including a bag, structural support disposed within the bag and high strength polymer surrounding the structural support within the bag.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, an orthopaedic bone plate including a flexible bag having a plurality of through holes; and a hardened polymer within the bag. The bone plate is attached to a bone by placing the bag against the bone; affixing the bag to the bone using a plurality of fasteners which extend through the bag; injecting a polymer into the bag; and hardening the polymer in the bag.
An advantage of the present invention is that the orthopaedic bone plate is contourable to the shape of the bone to which it is attached.
Another advantage is that a structural support may be positioned within the bag to provide enhanced structural rigidity to the bone plate.